1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a surgical drape, and more particularly to a surgical drape for Caesarian section procedures, the drape having a coverable transparent window oriented to allow a patient and her husband or other companion to selectively view the birth of their child and other aspects of the procedure.
2. Background Information
When preparing a patient for surgery, the area of the incision (the surgical area or surgical field) is sterilized to help prevent infection. Sterilized surgical drapes are then typically placed about the sterilized surgical area. The surgical drapes provide a barrier which helps to isolate the sterilized surgical area from non-sterilized surroundings. During surgical operations such as Caesarian section procedures, the surgical drape also serves to protect the patient, and any nearby observers (e.g., the father or other family members) from fluids released during the procedure.
These conventional surgical drapes are designed and deployed to provide the surgical team with an unencumbered view of the surgical area. Little or no consideration, however, is typically given to enabling the patient or family member to view the procedure. Rather, for procedures in which the patient is conscious, conventional drapes are generally used to intentionally block the patient's view of the surgical area. For example, a Caesarian section drape customarily forms a relatively large vertical overhang, which effectively forms an opaque wall between the patient's face and the surgical field. This wall disadvantageously tends to obstruct the parents' view of the birth.
In order to allow the parents to view the birth, the drape must be lowered or removed, potentially exposing the surgical field to infection. Lowering or removing the surgical drape also potentially exposes the parents to blood and other fluid from the operation, while also permitting the parents to view other aspects of the surgery (e.g., the surgical incision, stitching, etc.), that they may not wish to see.
A need therefore exists for a sterilizable surgical drape for surgical procedures, such as Caesarian sections, which provides the desired barrier functionality, while selectively enabling the patient (and family members) to view the birth of their child as well as some aspects of the surgery, and blocking the view of other aspects of the procedure.